Cave In
by Grav
Summary: It’s been two days, four hours and 16 minutes since the cave in. Daniel/Janet


AN: Written for the **danjanficathon**, for Brynn, who asked for the ubiquitous 'I thought you were dead' sort of story, as part of the Daniel/Janet Fication 2010: Back to the Future ficathon.

Spoilers: Um…nothing, really.

Rating: Kid friendly

Disclaimer: So not mine

Summary: It's been two days, four hours and 16 minutes since the cave in.

***

**Cave In**

_It's been two days, six hours and 28 minutes since the last time he said "I love you"._

It had been casual. Hurried, even, and most certainly unplanned. He'd come into the infirmary on his way to the Gate room looking for a roll of pressure bandages to add to his emergency kit. It wasn't exactly protocol to be in the medical wing in full kit, but it wasn't exactly against protocol either, and he had been doing it a lot more lately. She handed him the bandages, and he'd said it, and she can't remember if she said it back because he was already on the way out again.

The last time he kissed her had been that morning. They had been in the driveway in front of her house, and he'd passed over her keys. They knew better than to share a car, for all it annoyed her about her carbon footprint. She spent enough time waiting at the SGC as it was. It had seemed so simple, so normal then.

_It's been two days, four hours and 16 minutes since the cave in._

They can't touch the rocks for fear of disturbing more of the stones above. Jack and Teal'c tried, obviously, in those first moments after the initial collapse; throwing themselves into digging with a ferocity matched only by Sam's insistence that they stop. Since then, the whole cavern has seemed to hang upon a breath, like any movement would mean the end. If he hadn't already reached it of course.

She can't quite bring herself to believe Jack when he tells her that Daniel will be fine. He had his pack. He has water and food. He might even have air. Jack is reassuring, but there are lines around his eyes that belie his confidence. She thinks of concussions and of bleeding from internal injuries and of being slowly crushed by the weight above. The words all collide in her throat, and she can't get any of them out.

_It's been 23 hours and 39 minutes since Dr. Hyumph realized that the stones would crystallize if exposed to the right frequency._

It takes 24 of the most excruciatingly long hours she's ever waited for the geological team to realize what made this particular brand of alien rocks unique. They were so excited when they made their determination that she nearly strangled them. Even now, a day later, there is still an excited buzz about the applications of such a material, and only the frenetic pace of activity indicated that there is a person buried on the other side of the geomorphological wonder.

It takes Sam and Dr. Lee a day to build a transmitter, ferrying parts back and forth to Earth and in constant radio communication with Siler. Every 38 minutes there is a short break while the Gate resets, and it feels like a strange alarm clock snooze button every time; jarring those around it into action once again.

_It's been four hours and 42 minutes since Dr. Lee turned the jumbled stones to a solid wall of blue._

It's a bit like the most bizarre jell-o mold she's ever seen. Individual rocks still jut out from the wall; rounded protuberances marring the face of an otherwise uniform face. She tries not to think about the chances of finding Daniel encased in this façade of order and clean lines.

The next order of business is to cut through the wall. It will be a small hole. She sees Dr. Hyumph marking it out and knows right away that there are going to be very few people capable of crawling through it. Sam might be able to squeeze in, but as the geologists lay down the drill line and the line for the vacuum that will clear the path, more and more eyes turn to her. Janet realizes that this will be a case of bringing the mountain to Muhammad.

_It's been 25 minutes since she entered the tunnel._

Her going is slow. She crawls along, barely able to get clear of the floor of the cave. She scrambles for purchase on the smooth crystal bottom of the tunnel, and wonders how in hell she's going to get out of here pulling Daniel in the sled that's currently dragging along behind her.

She really only has to get him out if he's critically injured, and the way out will be easier because she won't have to wait for the drill. If he's stable, they'll just wait until the geologists come up with a way to get them out. But there's less rock between them now, and he still hasn't answered her when she calls out to him. The drill has to be turned off every now and then for the dust to clear, and for the vacuum to clear the rubble in front of her, and every time there is a moment of silence, she yells. But he doesn't yell back.

_It's been 47 seconds since she broke through to the other side of the cave in._

In hindsight, it's probably the longest 47 seconds of her entire life. Because she can see him as soon as she turns off the drill, but it takes her an eternity to pull the sled out behind her, unharness herself from it, grab her bag and get to him.

He's not awake, but he's breathing strong that she can hear him over the pounding of her own heart before she reaches his side and begins automatically to search for a pulse. He's alive, and he's not visibly damaged, but she can see his water canteen sticking out from under what is now a congealed mass of blue crystal, and she knows that it's dehydration.

_It's been one minute since she radioed Jack to tell him that everything was going to be okay._

He is angry, of course, that she made him wait. But she set all of Daniel's IV lines before making the call, and she refuses to apologize for that. She can hear them celebrating through the tunnel, and knows that they're already going back to work, looking for a way to make the tunnel bigger and able to accommodate their egress.

And then Daniel moves, and she takes his hand.

"Janet?" he says, throat thick from lack of water. "What are you doing here?"

"There was a cave in," she says gently, rummaging with her free hand for a straw. "Your radio was broken and it's been more than two days. I thought you were dead."

He smiles weakly at her, and she can't help but smile back. Then her radio clicks, and she waits to hear the next step.

_It's been five seconds since she knew that everything was going to be okay._

***

**finis**

Gravity_Not_Included, March 1, 2010


End file.
